Type 1, How to inject with the wrong hand?

[MySquareWheel]

Im type 1, i have been diabetic for well over 20 years and have always done my injection with my right hand.

Im having to have an operation on both hands for carpal tunnel, so it means one at a time I will have no use of both hands for about 2 months after the operation.

Thought this wouldnt be too much hassle, but the more I think about it the more this worries me... I have tried to do my injection with the left hand but it seems almost impossible.

Has anyone else had a problem like this, and how did you sort it out?

If i dont have the op ill loose use of my hands in years to come, so not really an option and if i dont do my injection, well we all know where that will end up.

HELP!!!

 

[azure]

Do you have a pen? I suggest practising a lot before your op, maybe somewhere easy like your leg. I grip the pen in my fist with my thumb on the button at the end and I find that works well

 

[Gaz-M]

I used to hold my pen with my index finger and thumb and nip my arm with the other 3 fingers, but you can just inject without nipping the flesh up, as azure says it will be worth practising before the operation.

 

[therower]

@MySquareWheel . The reason you struggle with your left hand is because you don't naturally use it.
As of now whatever you do with your right hand stop and use your left hand.
It'll be difficult but it's not impossible, you need to get the control mechanism in your left hand up to speed.
Good luck with the op.

 

[MySquareWheel]

Thanks for the quick replies, i tried this morning and I didnt get on too well, it is trying to get the left to act like the right but that is not easy for anyone who has tried it!
Thanks therower, ive got at least 4 weeks till my op so your right, its time to stop using the right hand!

 

[Gaz-M]

P.S. I had the operation in January this year and was back at work after 5 weeks, I would say the first week or two you won't be able to use it for not 8 weeks

 

[Salvia]

It's times like this when I am thankful for being born a "leftie" in a right-handed world - it's one of the few advantages. I grew up having to become largely ambidextrous, simply because that's how the world operates - there are no allowances made for left-handers (or at least, none that I can remember or think of just now). There are some things I find difficult, and others I can't do at all (like sewing right-handed) but there are tons of things I can do, & I find it is a really useful facility. None of that is of any help to you, I know, but my reason for posting is to suggest that once you learn to inject using your left hand, it may be wise to keep practicing using it occasionally, because you never know what might happen in future that could mean you have to use your left hand instead of right.

 

[MySquareWheel]

Gaz - thanks for the info, when you say you couldnt use it for 2 weeks, was that no movement? i assume it get easier with time?

Sure Salvia, Ive managed to crack the left hand, with no assistance from the right, so im hopeful, for now!

Thanks for all the input above

 

[Deleted Account]

I used to hold my pen with my index finger and thumb and nip my arm with the other 3 fingers, but you can just inject without nipping the flesh up, as azure says it will be worth practising before the operation.

That depends on how much padding you have. I am very lean and find it impossible to inject without pinching.

 

[MySquareWheel]

padding... none! im 5ft 8 and less than 9 stone! near impossible, but practice and I will rock this left handed business
was nerve racking doing it the first time... but i think ive got a technique now!

 

[Gaz-M]

That depends on how much padding you have. I am very lean and find it impossible to inject without pinching.

last year before I started on the pump my weight dropped from 10 stone to just over 7 stone due to other unrelated heath problems, I still did the same and it didn't hurt. You,d be suprised at how thick the layer of fat it even if you are thin

 

[MySquareWheel]

yeah i have aways been skinny, even when i rode my bike everywhere right up till I was 20, ive never been over 10 stone!
I hope your weight has stabilized now Gaz!

 

[qe5rt]

It's really practice and more practice. I'm a lefty but i started using my right hand whenever it was the easier thing to do. Something like hammering in a nail on the right side close to a wall is just easier with your right hand so i started doing so and now i have no problems switching hands. Same with using a computer mouse, if i'm using a computer that isn't mine i don't bother re-positioning the mouse. It's clumsy at first but you learn fairly fast (especially when hammering in nails ).

I'm not completely ambidextrous but i did manage to write with both hands once upon a time or switch the position of the pool cue when playing pool. Eventually it becomes second nature and the clumsiness is less apparent. Oddly some things i always did right handed like playing guitar, holding a riffle or a hockey stick. Switching those to a left handed position feels weird.

I'm gonna try injecting with my right hand tonight, never done that before and now i'm curious.

 

[RAPS_od]

I had problems with my right wrist at one point and had to learn to do the injection with my left. I found I could easily give my shot in the arm by leaning against a doorjamb and using just my left. It took only a bit of practice, but I did it without any consequence.
It seems to me a pen would make it much easier, but they can run into a great deal of money, particularly depending on the type of insulin(s) you take.
Good luck!